Travel Australia

Railway Stations: Tarlee, South Australia

Tarlee Railway Station was once on a busy railway line but now sits laying dormant like so many stations scattered throught the rural areas of South Australia. Located about an hour and a half’s drive north of Adelaide, Tarlee is a small townwith a small population that hasn't seen much action since the mid 1980s. The railway line came to the town in 1870 and passenger services ran until December of 1986.



Tarlee is in the lower Mid North region where Horrocks Highway crosses the Gilbert River. It is approximately 8 km south of Giles Corner, where the Barrier Highway to Broken Hill diverges from the Horrocks Highway through the Clare Valley. The origin of the town's name is uncertain, but it is thought to be a corruption of the name Tralee in Ireland. The township of Tarlee was advertised as being subdivided and readied for sale by auction in 1867. At the 2016 census, Tarlee had a population of 302.

The station is located on the Adelaide to Peterborough line between Roseworthy junction and Burra. For a short period, Forrester's near Tarlee was the terminus as construction was authorised in two stages in the late 1860s. The line past Burra was removed in the early 1990s. Freight to Burra ran until 1999 and the line saw freight trains to Saddleworth until they ceased in 2006. The line hasn’t been officially closed, but hasn’t seen a train for many years and the track isn’t in the best condition.

The station building and platform remain in suprisingly good condition. There is also an abandoned goods shed and a crane in the station yard which are all looking a little worse for wear. A short distance away is a disused grain silo, an almost obligatory addition to the railway infrastructure for towns in the South Australian wheatbelt.